Oil spill clean-up ops in Johor a success

By G Vinod and Ken Vin Lek
JOHOR BARU: The oil spill which spread into Malaysian waters after a collision involving a Malaysian-registered tanker and a bulk carrier in the Singapore Straits recently has been virtually cleaned up, said the Department of Environment (DOE) today.
The spill, which threatened to be an environmental disaster affecting domestic tourism and the local fishing industy, stretched from Tanjung Pengelih to Pengerang, Teluk Ramunia.
The DOE, in a press statement, said that about 17.8km of the beach has thus far been cleaned except for minor mopping-up operations. About 10,761 bags of oil and sand and 20,991 litres of oil were collected by 141 workers.
Kota Tinggi local district officer Ismail Karim, meanwhile, told FMT that the cleaning process was almost complete and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia has undertaken an environmental impact study.
“Fishermen are back in the seas. But we are still trying to find out how much losses they incurred since the spill last week,” said Ismail.
Meanwhile, Pengerang Fishermen Association's chairman, Abu Bakar, estimated that the loss of revenue due to the spill to the local fishing industry to be RM1.5 million.
He added that of the 1,220 fishermen in his area, about 800 of them were affected by the spill.
UTM team monitoring situation
UTM's Institute of Enviromental Management and Water Resources associate professor Dr Abdul Rahim Yusof said his team is studying the damage to the environment caused by the oil spill.
“We have two teams working on it. One is gathering geo-information and the other is studying the impact of the spill to oceanic life,” said Abdul Rahim.
He added that his team will study the area for the next two months and monitor it.
The tourism industry was relatively unscathed. Pulau Desaru Beach Resort reception clerk Fazliatul Zakiah Papon said tourist arrivals at her resort was not affected by the incident.
“Last week, we did see some decline in booking but this week our rooms are fully booked,” she said.
MT Bunga Kelana 3 collided with the St Vincent-Grenadines registered bulk freighter MV Wailyon May 25.
MT Bunga spilled about 2,000 tonnes of crude oil into the Singapore Straits,13km southeast of Changi Air Base. No injuries were reported among the crew.